ISBN-13: 978-3931936259

Today, people are rediscovering the advantages of bamboo, one of the world’s key construction materials. Not only is it cheap and enduring, but also has an unmistakable aesthetic appeal. It’s inner structure bears an astonishing resemblance to many high-tech compounds. This book offers scholarly text along with abundant photographs and sketches.

Simon Velez — today’s most renowned architect working in bamboo — is the focus of much of this material. His impressive engineering achievements are seen in generously overhanging roofs, ingenious load-bearing structures, sophisticated joints and an innovative combination of materials. He successfully brings together traditional Columbian structural designs, ecological processes and avant-garde technology. Prominently featured is Velez’ ZERI pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, Germany.

The title implies a focus on residential work, but much (perhaps more than half) of the projects are commercial, showcasing some truly impressive engineering. While joinery, botany, structure and engineering are covered, the essence of this book is about the possibilities of bamboo as a truly modern sustainable building material. There is much to stimulate the intellect in both the text, photos and illustrations.

This is a long overdue book to the bamboo-world that concentrates mostly on tropical, or clumping, bamboo. If you live in a geographical area (zone 9 and above)that allows you to grow tropical bamboo, or if you just wish to learn more about tropical bamboo, this book is a wonderful resource. It touches on the specifics of growing many tropical species, including propagation. The poor reputation that invasive, running, temperate bamboo has carried is not shared by the tropical species. Thanks to references like this book, bamboo-enthusiasts are learning that, for some, there is an alternative.

Eleven prominent styles of bamboo fence are presented, giving a basic understanding of the art form, with detailed building instructions and design ideas for each.

About the Author

ISAO YOSHIKAWA
Born in Tokyo in 1940. Graduated from the Architecture Department of Shibaura Technical University. He established the Japan Garden Research Association in 1963. Presently chairperson of the Association. The honorary president of the Suzhou Society for study of Landscape & Gandens, China. The honorary president of the Hangzhou Society for study of Landscape & Gardens, China. He plays an active part as a scholar of Japanese gardens. a garden architect, a designer of stone art objects, etc.Major books he has authored include “Bamboo fences” (Ariake Shobo, 1977), “Style of Famous Garden in Japan” (Kenchiku Shiryo Kenkyusha. 1978), “Details of Garden Design” (Kenchiku Shiryo Kenkyusha. 1978), “Pasing Stones and Stepping Stones” (Ariake Shobo, 1979), “Gardens in Kyoto” (Kodansha, 1981), “An Illustrated Dictionary of Bamboo Fence and Rock Arrangement” (Kenchiku Shiryo Kenkyusha, 1 9R4), “Japanese Garden Architects (Japan Garden Research Association. 1993) and “Making a Small Garden” (Boutique-sha Co.. 1996).

Bamboo’s amazing versatility, strength, and beauty have given it a larger role in human culture than any other plant. Both sustainable and plentiful, it has been used for millennia to make objects ranging from clothing and housing to more exotic luxuries like phonograph needles and children’s toys, to name but a few.
This acclaimed sourcebook—part history, part illustrated catalog,part cultivation guide—details the myriad uses of bamboo, along with an immense bounty of information and lore on how to grow, maintain, and harvest this extraordinary plant; how to use it in craft and construction projects, including floors, fences, papers, and play equipment; and bamboo’s place in the literary, visual, and musical arts. An encyclopedic roster of more than 1,200 bamboo species is a book in itself, as is author David Farrelly’s A-to-Z catalog of artifacts made from bamboo: acupuncture needles, blowguns, bridges, kites, ships, violins, windmills, and a thousand other things.
Strong, flexible, and beautiful in both its natural and finished states, bamboo is an abundant resource that could beneficially replace many less sustainable materials currently in use, and continue to transform our culture in the process.

Bamboo is strong, stiff, hard and clean. It can be grown on a small scale and used in buildings, bridges, furniture and fences. But can it be used in cold climates? This book will help you answer that question for yourself. Here you’ll learn the anatomy of this prolific grass and the terminology that describes it. The heart of Building with Bamboo covers the nuts and bolts of engineering and construction, including topics such as strength and allowable load, cost comparison methodology, joinery, foundations, flooring, walls, windows and doors. It even discusses how bamboo can be used to reinforce concrete. With this book, you’ll learn how to work with bamboo to favor its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.

Using bamboos as design elements is stressed in this encyclopedia of species particularly suited for use in the garden or in containers. It also provides essential information for growing these exotic treelike grasses successfully.

Paperback, 345 pages
Publication date: November 1993
Table of Contents
Introduction
Pt. I.
The Bamboo Plant
1. Vegetative Phase: The Maturing Plant
2. Reproductive Phase
3. Vegetative Phase: The Seedling
Pt. II. Elite Bamboos and Propagation Methods
4. Selected Species
5. Propagation Pt. III. Bases of Classification
6. Flowering and Fruiting Behavior in Bamboos of Different Genera and Species
7. Bamboos from the Point of View of Taxonomy
Appendix I. Generic Key to Bamboos under Cultivation in the United States and Puerto Rico
Glossary Literature Cited
Index of Scientific Names
Index of Subjects